The Mexican Consulate from Boston is coming up to Middlebury for the day on Saturday, July 18, to assist migrant dairy workers with their legal papers. In the past, Middlebury students have helped translate, but this is the summer this time!
Native speakers would of course be best, but the men (and often their families) need help from anyone who has a good command of Spanish. There are two main activities: the Consulate itself which focuses on legal documents of all sorts and a health clinic. So the need would be for medical and technical language ability.
The Consulate usually begins around 8:30 AM and lasts until about noon or 1PM. The staff drives up from Boston and brings everything they need to do the work. It is held at a church in downtown Middlebury. They return afterwards-- a long day.
You can’t know in advance how many workers will be there or what their needs will be. Sometimes they have their families with them, so we have a couple teens available for child care, with adult back up. Sometimes no children actually come out, but you can’t know in advance. But those teens could watch translators’ children, as well. If there are no children to watch, the teens may play a pick up soccer game with the workers, and others would be welcome to play.
Middlebury is a lovely area, and you should be done by about 1 PM, so you can combine community service with cultural exchange and vacation activities!
If you have other questions or want to volunteer, please call Dianna Scholl, the Chaplain at Porter Hospital in Middlebury, and a member of The Addison County Farm Worker Coalition, at 802-388-4756.
Please pass the word along!
Betty Keller
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